Hinge bracket for a pocket door

ABSTRACT

A hinge bracket attachable to a pocket door slide system wherein the pocket door slide system comprises components capable of achieving a full inset or partial overlay pocket door position without the hinge bracket, and wherein use of the hinge bracket enables the pocket door slide system to achieve a substantially full overlay pocket door position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to slide and hinge suspension systems forsupporting cabinet doors. More particularly, the present inventionrelates to a hinge bracket for use in converting common pocket doorslide systems from achieving an inset or a partial overlay configurationwhen the door is in a closed position to achieving a full overlayconfiguration when the door is in a closed position.

2. Description of the Related Art

It has become more common for cabinets to be used as entertainmentcenters to house televisions or other audio and/or visual equipment. Thedesign of such cabinets has evolved into a fairly common style ofproduct. Entertainment centers often comprise an upright cabinet thatmay be camouflaged by style and finish to appear as though it were oneof the existing pieces of furniture in a room.

This type of cabinet typically has a pair of large doors that enclose afront opening in an upper portion of the cabinet. These doors may beopened to reveal a television set, stereo or other entertainment systemthat has been conveniently hidden from view until it is desired to beused. Many times, these cabinets are found in hotel rooms where theycombine a series of drawers within a lower portion of the same cabinet,providing storage as well as the provisions for the entertainmentcenter.

Because it has been found to be desirable to keep the components of theentertainment center out of sight when not in use, the doors that arefound on such cabinets provide an important function of concealment. Asthe design of this type of cabinetry evolved, it was not satisfactory tohave the doors merely hinged onto the sides of the cabinet walls becausethey could rotate back into a semi-closed or fully closed position butwould potentially obscure the entertainment center or present anobstacle in proximity of the cabinet.

As a result, suspension systems for hanging the doors on such cabinetswere developed to allow the doors to be hinged to an open position, andthereafter, to traverse rearward into the interior of the cabinet, intoa so-called “pocket” space in parallel alignment with the cabinet sidewalls. The door suspension systems have typically been based upon theusage of drawer slide technology, notably precision drawer slidetechnology using telescoping slide members and ball or roller bearings,such as is found in office furniture applications and the like, althoughother more simplistic drawer slides may be used. In the case of suchdoor applications, however, it is necessary to use a specialized slideadapted in a way that allows the door to be mounted to a portion of asliding element, while at the same time allowing it to hinge when itreaches the fully opened position. In this manner, the functionality ofthe suspension system provides both a hinged opening and closingrelationship relative to the door and the hinge, as well as atranslational action between a forward position at a ninety degree angleto the front of the cabinet, and a rearward position within the cabinetbody.

Given their movement and storage position within the cabinet, doors ofthis type have become known as “pocket doors”. In turn, the slidesuspension systems that support each pocket door in these applicationshave become known as “pocket door slides”.

A number of pocket door slide systems have been developed in the priorart, with particular structures designed to keep the doors from sagging,racking or otherwise becoming misaligned when in position to be movedrearward into the cabinet or forward out from the cabinet. For instance,there are systems that use a rigid follower strip, anti-racking plate orbar, made for instance of wood, metal or other suitable materials orcombinations thereof, and connected to the upper and lower pocket doorslides and their hinge mounting assemblies, such as are shown in U.S.Pat. No. 5,108,165, to positively maintain the alignment of suchcomponents. Alternatively, there are pocket door slide systems that usea cable system to keep the door aligned by connecting the slideassemblies and their hinges, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.4,974,912 and 5,395,165. Further alternative alignment components forpocket door slide systems are disclosed in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication US 2004/0046488. These systems utilize rack and pinioncomponents that offer a pair of racks and pinion gears for each slide,which are connected via an axle. While such systems may be constructedin many forms and may be used with a pair of hinges on a standard door,such rack and pinion systems may be constructed to be particularly wellsuited for maintaining alignment of very large pocket doors that requiremore than two hinges.

In all of these or other prior art pocket door slide systems, the slidesare typically mounted to the inner surface of the outer side walls ofthe cabinet. In turn, hinges commonly known as a “Euro-hinge”,manufactured for instance by Arutro Salice S.p.A., typically have eithera 35 mm or 40 mm hinge mounting cup, and are mounted to the slides toachieve full inset doors, i.e., doors that when hinged to the closedposition are recessed so as to have their front surface be substantiallyflush with, or in the same plane as, the front edges of the cabinet sidewalls. These hinges have numerous advantages, including their three-wayadjustability and the ability to remove the hinged door easily from thecabinet.

With full inset doors, a gap exists between the outer edge of each doorand the respective adjacent cabinet side wall when the door is in theclosed position. In applications where the piece of furniture has acabinet above drawers and the drawers also are of the inset style, thisis acceptable. However, a popular style is full overlay, where the doorsand drawers fully overlay the cabinet sides which are typically ¾″thick. It is desirable to match the pocket doors to the full overlaydrawers, but to date, the systems capable of achieving a full overlayfor pocket doors when in a closed door position require specializedslide components, or specific components necessary to modify thecabinet, which are unique to a full overlay application, as opposed tousing commonly stocked components and cabinet structures from an insetsystem.

An example of a system having specialized slide components is disclosedin U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2004/0239216. However, suchsystems are more complicated and expensive. The need to stockspecialized slides, which are a fairly costly part of a pocket doorslide system, just for use in full overlay pocket door applications, isnot desirable.

Similarly, an example of a cabinet requiring specialized components tomodify the cabinet to achieve a full overlay system is disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 5,108,165. This cabinet system requires specialized columnarframe members to be mounted to an inner cabinet wall to space the entireslide and hinge system from the inner wall, as well as a specificanti-rack plate to achieve the full overlay result. Once again, thespecialized nature of the components and mounting is not desirable.

Alternatively, some systems have attempted to use hinges mounted on athinly milled wood follower strip to achieve partial pocket dooroverlay. However, due to the limitations of the wood strength and theneed to fasten the hinge bases to the follower strips at the thinnedsections, only modest improvement in door overlay has been achievedusing these designs. As a result, these modified systems are not capableof achieving a full overlay position, and thus do not cover the entirefront edge of the adjacent side wall.

Therefore, it would be advantageous to be able to convert conventionalpocket door slide system hardware, that utilizes relatively standarddrawer slides and common Euro-hinge style components regularly stockedby cabinet manufacturers and designed to achieve an inset or partialoverlay position, to a system that can alternatively achieve a fulloverlay position for pocket doors when in the closed position. It alsowould be advantageous to be able to achieve the full overlay positionregardless of which pocket door slide system is used to maintain thedoor alignment, whether it be of the type which uses an anti-rackingbar, cable system, rack and pinion, or other approach to coordinatingthe movement of the drawer slides.

It further would be advantageous to be able to utilize a single bracketfor all hinge mounting positions, whether on the left or right side ofthe cabinet and whether it be for use with an upper or lower slide.

It also would be advantageous to be able to achieve such conversion ofhardware, whether the particular application has one or two hingesassociated with each slide unit.

In the full overlay position, each door is positioned to fully cover thefront edge of the respective adjacent cabinet side wall. To theknowledge of the inventors, prior to the development of the presentinvention, the common slides and Euro-hinge style hinges used for insetor partial overlay pocket doors were not able to be conveniently adaptedto achieve a full overlay position for pocket doors when hinged to theclosed position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose and advantages of the invention will be set forth in orotherwise apparent from the description and drawings that follow, aswell as will be learned by practice of the invention.

The present invention is generally embodied in a hinge bracketattachable to a pocket door slide system wherein the pocket door slidesystem comprises components capable of achieving a full inset or partialoverlay pocket door position without the hinge bracket, and wherein useof the hinge bracket enables the pocket door slide system to achieve asubstantially full overlay pocket door position.

In another aspect of the invention, the hinge bracket has a first planarportion and at least one second planar portion with the first and secondplanar portions positioned in two spaced apart and substantiallyparallel planes.

In a related further aspect of the invention, the hinge bracket has atleast one offset portion connecting the first planar portion to a secondplanar portion.

In another aspect of the invention, the hinge bracket has a first planarportion located in a first plane and a pair of second planar portionslocated in a second plane spaced apart from and substantially parallelto the first plane.

In a related further aspect of the invention, the hinge bracket has apair of offset portions, wherein each offset portion connects the firstplanar portion to a second planar portion.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a pocket door slide system isadapted to mount a door to a cabinet having a side wall wherein when thedoor is in a closed position an outer edge of the door is substantiallyin the same plane as an outer surface of the side wall, the pocket doorslide system having at least two pocket door slides, each pocket doorslide having a slidable member, and a hinge bracket being connectable tothe slidable member by at least one fastener at a first location on thehinge bracket and having at least one pair of holes spaced 32 mm apartand being connectable to a respective at least one hinge at a secondlocation on the hinge bracket, wherein the hinge is further adapted tobe connected to a door.

In a related further aspect of the invention, the first location islocated on a first planar portion of the hinge bracket and therespective second location is located on a respective second planarportion of the hinge bracket, wherein the first planar portion is in afirst plane and the respective second planar portion is in a secondplane spaced from and substantially parallel to the first plane.

In a further related aspect of the invention, the hinge bracketcomprises at least two second locations, with each second location beinglocated on a respective second planar portion.

Thus, the present invention presents an alternative to prior artspecialized drawer slide and cabinet components needed to achieve a fulloverlay position for pocket doors. The present invention also simplifiesthe structure needed to achieve full overlay pocket doors by usingsimple hinge brackets to convert conventional pocket door slide systemcomponents that were designed for inset or partial overlay doors. Withpresent known Euro-hinge geometry, substantially full overlay may beachieved on cabinets having a side wall thickness of up to approximately¾″. It will be appreciated that changes in hinge geometry may yieldincreased or decreased side wall overlay capabilities.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and provided forpurposes of explanation only, and are not restrictive of the invention,as claimed. Further features and objects of the present invention willbecome more fully apparent in the following description of the preferredembodiments and from the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In describing the preferred embodiments, reference is made to theaccompanying drawing figures wherein like parts have like referencenumerals, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a prior art, conventional pocketdoor slide system for an inset door configuration, as it would beconfigured with a follower strip alignment system and with the slidemounted to the inner surface of an outer wall of a cabinet.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a first embodiment in accordancewith the invention where a hinge bracket is used with the hardware ofeach conventional pocket door slide system of FIG. 1 to convert to afull overlay system, wherein the system is shown in relation to acabinet and the slide is mounted to the outer surface of an innercabinet wall.

FIG. 3 is a more isolated front perspective view of the converted pocketdoor slide system of FIG. 2 with the slide mounted to the outer surfaceof an inner cabinet wall.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a second embodiment in accordancewith the invention where a hinge bracket is used with the hardware ofeach conventional pocket door slide system that is configured with acable alignment system to convert to a full overlay system, and whereinthe slide is mounted to the outer surface of an inner cabinet wall.

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a third embodiment in accordancewith the invention where a hinge bracket capable of accepting aplurality of hinges is used with the hardware of each conventionalpocket door slide system that is configured with a rack and pinionalignment system to convert to a full overlay system, and wherein theslide is mounted to the outer surface of an inner cabinet wall.

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of a further embodiment of a hingebracket in accordance with the invention where the hinge bracket isadapted for use with the hardware of conventional pocket door slidesystems and is adapted for mounting a first planar portion to the hingemounting holes on a slide and a second planar portion is adapted toaccept two hinges in a conversion to a full overlay system that uses twohinges per slide.

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of yet another embodiment of a hingebracket in accordance with the invention where the hinge bracket isadapted for use with the hardware of conventional pocket door slidesystems and is adapted for mounting a first planar portion to the hingemounting holes on a slide and a pair of second planar portions are eachadapted to accept a hinge in a conversion to a full overlay system thatuses two hinges per slide.

FIGS. 8A-8D are top cross-sectioned views of an embodiment in accordancewith the invention showing a pocket door in a series of positions frombeing moved toward its fully forward position, parallel to the cabinetouter side wall, to hinging to a closed position where it is in a fulloverlay position relative to the cabinet outer side wall.

It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scaleand provide various views of assemblies that are within the spirit andscope of the invention which may be used in various configurations ofpocket door slide systems. While some mechanical details of suchsystems, including other plan and section views of the particularcomponents, have been omitted, such details are considered well withinthe comprehension of those skilled in the art in light of the presentdisclosure. It also should be understood that the present invention isnot limited to the preferred embodiments illustrated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring generally to FIGS. 2-6D, it will be appreciated that thepresent invention generally may be embodied within numerousconfigurations within pocket door slide systems for pocket doors.

In accordance with FIG. 1, a prior art conventional pocket door slidesystem 10 for an inset door configuration is shown. Pocket door slidesystem 10 includes a pair of complimentary upper and lower slide andhinge systems, one of which will be described in detail for clarity andease of viewing. However, it will be appreciated by one of skill in theart that the two are complimentary and are essentially configured as amirror image of each other.

Thus, pocket door slide system 10 includes slides 12 mounted, such as byconventional screw type fasteners (not shown) to the inner surface I ofa right hand outer side wall SW of a cabinet. Slides 12 are shown ashaving an outer track 14 and an inner slide member 16 which may include,for instance, ball bearing retainers 18 that permit inner slide member16 to translate forward and rearward with respect to outer track 14.Pocket door slide system 10 further includes a backing plate 20 mountedto inner slide member 16, such as by welding at two or more spot welds,or by other suitable fastening means for connection or manufacture of anintegral piece.

To provide the hinge motion necessary to move a door from an openposition, parallel to side wall SW, to a closed position, inset andperpendicular to SW, hinges 30 are provided. In this prior artembodiment, system 10 is equipped with Euro-hinge style hinges 30 whichare well known in the art. Hinges 30 include a base 32 mounted tobacking plate 20, such as by conventional screw type fasteners 34, abody 36 connected to base 32, hinge arms 38 extending from body 36 andconnected to a door mounting cup 40. Door mounting cup 40 is configuredto be mounted by conventional means to a recess in a door (not shown)which is conventional in the art. Also of note, the holes through hingebase 32 for mounting to a backing plate typically have a standardspacing of 32 mm apart.

In order to maintain proper door alignment, system 10 also includes afollower strip 42 or anti-racking plate mounted to backing plates 20 ofthe upper and lower slide and hinge systems. Follower strip 42 is shownas being made of a solid material, such as wood, for ease of mounting tobacking plate 20 with conventional fasteners, such as screws or the like(not shown). Follower strip 42, which it will be appreciated may be inmany different forms, serves to keep inner slide members 16 moving inunison so as to prevent racking of the pocket door.

This prior art, conventional pocket door slide system 10, as described,uses conventional slide and hinge components designed to achieve aninset door position when the pocket door is in a fully closed position.As such, when in the closed position, the outer or front surface of thepocket door will be relatively flush with or in the same plane as thefront edge of side wall SW. However, as previously mentioned, the doorwill not match the styling of the full overlay drawers.

Now turning to FIGS. 2 and 3, a cabinet C is shown in FIG. 2 having afull overlay pocket door slide system 110 consistent with the presentinvention. Cabinet C comprises at least a top panel T, a bottom panel B,left and right outer side walls SW, left and right inner walls IW, andleft and right pocket doors L and R, respectively. Left and right innerwalls IW may be fastened in place within cabinet C in a conventionalmanner, such as by using L-shaped brackets and conventional screw typefasteners, or by other suitable means. It will be appreciated that eachdoor has a respective system 110, although the right inner walleffectively hides the right hand system from view. Cabinet C may takemany forms, need not be part of an entertainment center, and it will beunderstood that it generally is representative of the upper portion ofan entertainment center having pocket doors.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, pocket door slide system 110 also isconstructed with upper and lower slides with hinges, one of which willbe described in detail for clarity and ease of viewing. Again however,it will be appreciated by one of skill in the art that the two arecomplimentary and are essentially configured as a mirror image of eachother to achieve a pocket door slide system 110.

With respect to left door L, system 110 is mounted to the outer surface0 of left inner wall IW of cabinet C. More particularly, each of theslides 12 of suspension system 110 is mounted, such as by conventionalscrew type fasteners (not shown) to the outer surface 0 of left handinner wall IW of cabinet C. Slides 12 may be constructed as described inrelation to the prior art conventional slides in FIG. 1, having an outertrack 14, an inner slide member 16, and ball bearing retainers 18.Similarly, suspension system 110 further includes a backing plate 20mounted to inner slide member 16, as described in relation to FIG. 1.

Each of the slide and hinge systems of pocket door slide system 110 alsoincludes a hinge bracket 60 mounted to backing plate 20 by conventionalfasteners. Hinge bracket 60 has first and second planar portions 62 and64, and an offset portion 66 connected to and between planar portions 62and 64 so as to locate planar portions 62 and 64 in spaced apartsubstantially parallel respective planes. The offset preferably being inthe range of 0.59 to 1.13 inches to accommodate common componentthicknesses and hinge heights. First planar portion 62 preferably has apair of mounting holes 68 by which hinge bracket 60 may be mounted tobacking plate 20 by conventional fasteners. Mounting holes 68 arepreferably in the same configuration as would be the mounting holes of aconventional hinge base 32, such as with a 32 mm spacing, so that newfastening holes need not be made in backing plate 20 to accommodate themounting of hinge bracket 60.

Pocket door slide system 110 uses the same conventional Euro-hinge stylehinges 30 as used in prior art system 10. However, hinge 30 is mountedto the inner surface of second planar portion 64, which preferably has apair of mounting holes 70 to mount hinge 30 by conventional fasteners.To readily accept mounting of hinge base 32, holes 70 are preferably ofthe same configuration as the original mounting holes in backing plate20, such as 32 mm apart. In addition, respective mounting holes 68 and70 are preferably aligned, so as to maintain the same fore and aftlocation of left door L with respect to the slide member, as best seenwith respect to backing plate 20. If respective mounting holes 68 and 70are aligned and centered with respect to bracket 60, then bracket 60will be universally adapted for left and right doors and for both topand bottom slide assemblies. It will be appreciated that if therespective mounting holes 68 and 70 are aligned but not centered withrespect to bracket 60, each upper and lower bracket 60 would be a mirrorimage of one another, and therefore, it may be preferable to have a tabor other locating feature to assure proper orientation of bracket 60 toprevent improper assembly.

In this configuration, left door L is then mounted to door mounting cup40 of hinge 30 in a conventional manner. Pocket door slide system 110also is able to use the same door alignment hardware as in the prior artsystem, which includes follower strip 42 mounted to backing plates 20 ofthe upper and lower slide and hinge systems.

Thus, it will be appreciated that by using hinge bracket 60, themounting of conventional slide and hinge components that are designedfor inset pocket door slide systems may be reconfigured to achieve thedesired full overlay pocket door slide systems.

Turning to FIG. 4, a further embodiment in accordance with the inventionis shown. FIG. 4 illustrates that hinge brackets 60 may be used withpocket door slide systems that have alternative door alignment means.For instance, the pocket door slide system 210 of FIG. 4 represents asystem that uses conventional prior art slide and hinge components ofthe type having a cable system 80 to synchronize the upper and lowerslide and hinge systems to maintain proper door alignment.

Accordingly, pocket door slide system 210 also is constructed with upperand lower slide and hinge systems, similar to those in FIGS. 2 and 3,and would be mounted to outer surface 0 of left inner wall IW of cabinetC. However, pocket door slide system 210 has alternative backing plates82, pulleys 84, cables 86, forward cable end mountings 88 and rearwardcable end mountings (not shown), as substituted for backing plates 20and follower strip 42. Thus, by using hinge brackets 60, pocket doorslide system 210 may be converted from the conventional configuration,in which it would be designed to be mounted to the inner surface of anouter side wall and to achieve an inset or partial overlay pocket doorposition, to a new configuration in which it is mounted to an outersurface of an inner wall and can achieve a full overlay pocket doorslide system.

A further alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 5, for use in slideand hinge suspension systems designed to support very large cabinetdoors. In FIG. 5, pocket door slide system 310 is configured to allow acabinet door to be mounted by four hinges, and incorporates a prior artrack and pinion door alignment system 90, disclosed in U.S. PatentApplication Publication US 2004/0046488, to accommodate the increasedmass of a larger door, while still using conventional slide and hingecomponents.

As with the other embodiments, pocket door slide system 310 isconstructed with upper and lower slide and hinge systems, one of whichwill be described in detail for clarity and ease of viewing. Once again,it will be appreciated by one of skill in the art that the two arecomplimentary and are essentially configured as a mirror image of eachother.

Pocket door slide system 310 is shown for use with a left cabinet door.More particularly, each of the slides 12 of system 310 is mounted to theouter surface 0 of a left hand inner wall IW of a cabinet, by similarfastening means to that used with the other embodiments. Slides 12 againmay be constructed as described in relation to the prior artconventional slides in FIG. 1, having an outer track 14, an inner slidemember 16, and ball bearing retainers 18.

In this embodiment, pocket door slide system 310 further includesalternative backing plate 92 mounted to inner slide member 16, andhaving an axle or synchronization shaft 94 mounted thereto by means ofpillow block type shaft housings 96. Pinion gears 98 are mounted on axle94 and engage teeth of rack member 100 which is mounted in cooperationwith slide 12 to the outer surface 0 of the left hand inner wall IW.This system also uses an alternative hinge bracket 360 in accordancewith the invention to accommodate the mounting of two hinges 30 for eachrespective slide 12.

As shown in FIG. 5, hinge bracket 360 has a first planar portion 362 anda pair of second planar portions 364, with a pair of respective offsetportions 366 connecting first planar portion 362 to the respective pairof second planar portions 364, and thereby locating first planar portion362 and second planar portions 364 in spaced apart substantiallyparallel respective planes. As in the prior embodiment the offsetpreferably is in the range of 0.59 to 1.13 inches. First planar portion362 preferably has two pair of mounting holes 368 by which hinge bracket360 may be mounted to backing plate 92 by conventional fasteners.Mounting holes 368 are preferably in the same configuration as would bethe mounting holes for a pair of conventional hinge bases 32, such asthe previously noted 32 mm common spacing, and so that new fasteningholes need not be made in backing plate 92 to accommodate the mountingof hinge bracket 360.

Pocket door slide system 310 uses the same conventional Euro-hinge stylehinges 30 as in the prior art system 10. However, a hinge 30 is mountedto the inner surface of each of the pair of second planar portions 364,and each preferably has a pair of mounting holes 370 spaced apart in amanner consistent with a hinge base 32 to mount a hinge 30 byconventional fasteners, such as with the previously noted 32 mm commonspacing. Similarly to the other embodiments, respective mounting holes368 and 370 are preferably aligned on bracket 360, so as to maintain thesame fore and aft location of left door L with respect to the slidemember, as best seen with respect to the front edge of backing plate 92.In this configuration, left door L is then mounted to door mounting cup40 of each hinge 30 in a conventional manner. Pocket door slide system310 thus uses alternative hinge brackets 360 to convert hardwaredesigned as an inset pocket door slide system for a large door to a fulloverlay pocket door slide system.

Turning to FIGS. 6 and 7, two examples of further alternativeembodiments of hinge brackets in accordance with the invention areshown. These examples represent further hinge brackets of the inventionadapted to convert common pocket door slide hardware from a design foruse with one hinge per slide and to achieve an inset door to a designfor use with two hinges per slide and to achieve a full overlay door. InFIG. 6, a hinge bracket 460 is somewhat like the bracket 60 of FIGS.2-4, but bracket 460 is adapted to have a first planar portion 462mounted at a pair of holes 468 to the mounting holes on a slide thatwould have been used to accommodate a single hinge for an inset door,and has a second planar portion 464 with two pair of hinge mountingholes 470 to accept two hinges of a conventional pocket door slidesystem. First planar portion 462 and second planar portion 464 areconnected by offset portion 466 so as to locate planar portions 462, 464in spaced apart substantially parallel respective planes.

The embodiment of hinge bracket 560 shown in FIG. 7 is somewhat like thebracket 360 of FIG. 5, but bracket 560 is adapted to have a first planarportion 562 mounted at a pair of holes 568 to the mounting holes on aslide that would have been used to accommodate a single hinge for aninset door, and has a pair of second planar portions 564, each having apair of hinge mounting holes 570 to collectively accept two hinges of aconventional pocket door slide system. A pair of respective offsetportions 566 connect first planar portion 562 to the respective pair ofsecond planar portions 564 in spaced apart substantially parallelrespective planes.

The embodiments shown in FIGS. 2-7 demonstrate that the presentinvention may be used in various configurations to achieve a fulloverlay closed door position. It will be appreciated that the movementof the door relative to the cabinet will be quite similar in each ofthese embodiments, and such movement is illustrated generally in FIGS.8A-8D.

For instance, in FIG. 8A, left door L is shown from a top view withrespect to inner wall IW and outer side wall SW. In this view, left doorL is in a first position where the door is being moved toward its fullyforward position, parallel to the cabinet outer side wall SW. In FIG.8B, left door L is shown in a second position where the door has beenmoved to its fully forward position and is being hinged toward a closedposition. In FIG. 8C, left door L is shown in a third position where thedoor is being hinged still closer toward a closed position. In FIG. 8D,left door L is shown in a fourth position where door L has been hingedto a fully closed position, and is located in a full overlay positionrelative to cabinet outer side wall SW.

It will be appreciated that the pocket door slide systems and hingebrackets disclosed in accordance with the present invention may beprovided in various configurations, having any of a number of componentsused for the slides and to maintain door alignment, and regardless ofwhether the system has two or more slides and one or more hinges perslide. Also, any variety of suitable materials of construction,configurations, shapes and sizes for the components and methods ofconnecting the components may be utilized to meet the particular needsand requirements of an end user. It will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that various modifications can be made in the design andconstruction of such components without departing from the scope orspirit of the present invention, and that the claims are not limited tothe preferred embodiments illustrated.

1. A hinge bracket attachable to a pocket door slide system wherein thepocket door slide system comprises components capable of achieving afull inset or partial overlay pocket door position without the hingebracket, and wherein use of the hinge bracket enables the pocket doorslide system to achieve a substantially fill overlay pocket doorposition.
 2. A hinge bracket in accordance with claim 1, furthercomprising a first planar portion and at least one second planar portionwith the first and second planar portions positioned in two spaced apartand substantially parallel planes.
 3. A hinge bracket in accordance withclaim 2, further comprising at least one offset portion connecting thefirst planar portion to a second planar portion.
 4. A hinge bracket inaccordance with claim 2, wherein the first planar portion is adapted tobe connected to a slide member of the pocket door slide system.
 5. Ahinge bracket in accordance with claim 2, wherein the at least onesecond planar portion is adapted to be connected to at least one doorhinge.
 6. A hinge bracket in accordance with claim 2, wherein the atleast one first planar portion is spaced apart from the at least onesecond planar portion in the range of 0.59 to 1.13 inches.
 7. A hingebracket in accordance with claim 2, wherein the first planar portion andat least one second planar portion have aligned mounting holes, wherebya hinge mounted for use in a full overlay system may be in the same foreand aft location with respect to a slide member of the pocket door slidesystem as it would have been in an inset system.
 8. A hinge bracket inaccordance with claim 2, wherein the first planar portion has at least apair of mounting holes spaced 32 mm apart.
 9. A hinge bracket inaccordance with claim 2, wherein the at least one second planar portionhas at least a pair of mounting holes spaced 32 mm apart.
 10. A hingebracket in accordance with claim 2, wherein the first planar portion hasat least a pair of mounting holes spaced 32 mm apart, and the at leastone second planar portion has at least a pair of mounting holes spaced32 mm apart and being in alignment with the pair of mounting holes inthe first planar portion.
 11. A hinge bracket in accordance with claim1, further comprising a first planar portion located in a first planeand a pair of second planar portions located in a second plane spacedapart from and substantially parallel to the first plane.
 12. A hingebracket in accordance with claim 11, further comprising a pair of offsetportions, wherein each offset portion connects the first planar portionto a second planar portion.
 13. A hinge bracket in accordance with claim1, wherein the pocket door slide system is adapted to use a followerstrip to synchronize sliding movements of at least two door slides. 14.A hinge bracket in accordance with claim 1, wherein the pocket doorslide system is adapted to use a cable system to synchronize slidingmovements of at least two door slides.
 15. A hinge bracket in accordancewith claim 1, wherein the pocket door slide system is adapted to use arack and pinion system to synchronize sliding movements of at least twodoor slides.
 16. A hinge bracket in accordance with claim 10, whereinthe pocket door slide system is adapted to use a rack and pinion systemto synchronize sliding movements of at least two door slides.
 17. Apocket door slide system adapted to mount a door to a cabinet having aside wall wherein when the door is in a closed position an outer edge ofthe door is substantially in the same plane as an outer surface of theside wall, the pocket door slide system comprising at least two pocketdoor slides, each pocket door slide having a slidable member, and ahinge bracket being connectable to the slidable member by at least onefastener at a first location on the hinge bracket and having at leastone pair of holes spaced 32 mm apart and being connectable to arespective at least one hinge at a second location on the hinge bracket,wherein the hinge is further adapted to be connected to a door.
 18. Apocket door slide system in accordance with claim 17, wherein the firstlocation is located on a first planar portion of the hinge bracket andthe respective second location is located on a respective second planarportion of the hinge bracket, wherein the first planar portion is in afirst plane and the respective second planar portion is in a secondplane spaced from and substantially parallel to the first plane.
 19. Ahinge bracket in accordance with claim 18, further comprising at leastone offset portion connecting the first planar portion to eachrespective second planar portion.
 20. A hinge bracket in accordance withclaim 18, wherein the first plane is spaced apart from the second planein the range of 0.59 to 1.13 inches.
 21. A hinge bracket in accordancewith claim 17, wherein the first location is aligned with a respectivepair of 32 mm holes at the second location, whereby a hinge mounted foruse in a full overlay system may be in the same fore and aft locationwith respect to a slide member of the pocket door slide system as itwould have been in an inset system.
 22. A hinge bracket in accordancewith claim 17, further comprising at least a pair of holes spaced 32 mmapart at the first location on the hinge bracket.
 23. A hinge bracket inaccordance with claim 17, further comprising at least two pair of holesat the first location on the hinge bracket with each respective pair ofholes at the first location being spaced 32 mm apart.
 24. A hingebracket in accordance with claim 17, further comprising at least twopair of holes at the respective second location on the hinge bracketwith each respective pair of holes at the second location being spaced32 mm apart.
 25. A hinge bracket in accordance with claim 17, furthercomprising at least two second locations, with each second locationbeing located on a respective second planar portion.